


collecting strays

by IntrovertedOwl



Series: ~ I dreamed we had a kid. It was so real. ~ [4]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: ASOIAF references, Dad!Tony, Fluff, Game of Thrones References, Gen, OH ALSO BOOK 5/S5/S6 SPOILERS FOR GOT/ASOIAF, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Precious Peter Parker, SO MUCH FLUFF, Science Bros, Son!Peter, Tony Adopts Everyone, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, and everyone knows it, but Platonic - Freeform, everyone's alive and happy thank you very much, pepperony is also platonic, post avengers 4 as well, tony stark is a dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 10:11:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14746865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IntrovertedOwl/pseuds/IntrovertedOwl
Summary: In which there are cats, and Peter realizes he’s got WAY too much in common with Jon Snow.~ series is a collection of unrelated dad!tony fics ~





	collecting strays

**Author's Note:**

> This happened because I realized how much Peter and Jon had in common. Okay, the other references I've used are not *quite* accurate, but more on that later.
> 
> Also, Phil Coulson is mentioned because I forgot he's still dead in the movies, lol. (Never watched AoS so if he's dead there too... just consider this an AU, lol).
> 
> This is also very late, I was supposed to finish this in the first week of May, and the end product isn't great enough to justify the delay, so SORRYYYYYY :(((

_Generally_ , Peter wouldn’t have thought of picking up a stray kitten and heading to Tony’s place. But then, he’d never stumbled across an _actual_ cat fight in the streets before. Although fight was probably a strong word. This was two tomcats ganging up on an albino kitten in a back alley, and good thing he had supersenses because that was the only thing that saved the kitten which looked near starvation anyway. A couple years ago this still wouldn’t have been a good enough excuse for him, but Aunt May was terrified of cats and he was pretty sure Tony didn’t mind them because Rhodey had said something about it once – yes he knows he’s on thin ground but he _really wants to keep this one_ – and he tries not to think about whether asking your mentor/boss/superhero leader/hero to adopt a kitten is an inappropriate thing to do.

 

 

“Hey, Tony, what’s up?” _Keep it casual, keep it casual –_

 

“Just something for SI, it’s – what the – is that – did you _actually_ rescue a _kitten_ on your way here?”

 

Peter looked sheepish. “He was too tiny to fight the others.”

 

 _This kid really can’t get more cliché,_ Tony thought, as Dummy got the kitten a bowl of milk.

 

It did look terrified, and when Peter put him down it took a few tentative steps towards the bowl, darting wary looks at Tony and dummy. Hunger won out though, and Peter cheered when he finally gave in and started lapping up the milk.

 

“That’s right, Ghost, go on, finish the whole –”

 

_Ghost?_

 

“You _named_ it?”

 

“Well, I mean, he was terrified when I rescued him so I had to keep talking to him –"

 

“He’s a kitten, of course he’s terrified, you were _swinging up_ in the air, that’s not–”

 

“- and it felt rude to just keep calling him ‘cat’, I mean, he even _looks_ like –”

 

“Don’t say it –”

 

“But he does! He looks like Ghost, and you k –”

 

“You make even _one_ House Stark joke and I swear to God –”

 

“ _Fine_ , I _won’t_ , but please, you have to keep him –”

 

“Absolutely _not_ , this is not a pet-safe zone and –”

 

“But, look, he’s so nice and sweet and _tiny_ , and Rhodey said you always wanted a pet when you were a kid –”

 

 _Of course_ Ghost chose that moment to look straight at him with those pale blue eyes and mew.

 

“…Rhodey needs to talk less,” Tony grumbled. “Fine, but you’re going to toilet train him.”

 

Peter beamed. “Yes! I mean, of course, sure, whatever you say!”

 

 

*

 

 

He was working on Rhodey’s suit when Ghost walked in and started mewing at him. He jumped, “Wha—how did you even get inside, you’re not allowed in here –”

 

“Oh, I let him,” said Pepper, walking in with her hair swishing behind her.  “Don’t look at me like that, he’s always standing outside the lab looking miserable, trying to figure out how to get in, what was I supposed to do?”

 

“He’s got the whole _building_ for himself, what does he even want with -”

 

“ _Meow_.”

 

He turned to find Ghost on the table staring intently at the War Machine holograms.

 

“Yeah, no, that’s not for you, kitty –“

 

_“Meow.”_

 

“Why are you even fighting so hard, I thought you always wanted a cat, you built one for yourself didn’t you?”

 

“ _How_ do you even know stuff like that? And I was _twelve_ at the time, anyway.”

 

“You have that ‘cat-ions are paw-sitive’ t-shirt.”

 

“It’s a nice pun.”

 

_“Meow.”_

 

“Okay, see, now he’s being distracting,” said Tony, as Ghost pawed at the holograms and started jumping through them, mewing continuously.

 

“Happy said that Peter will be dropping by in the evening and take Ghost out for some time, his friend Ned wants to meet him.”

 

“Fine, fine,” he said.

 

 

*

 

 

“So,” said Ned, as he tried to give Ghost some food without scaring him away. Two weeks at the Stark mansion and Ghost was certainly looking a lot better, but he was still pretty skittish, especially with strangers. “Mr. Stark _really_ doesn’t mind the pet?”

 

Peter shrugged. “ _He_ says Ghost is a pain in the butt, but Dr. Banner showed me picture of him sleeping on the couch one day and he was snuggling Ghost, so…”

 

“I still can’t believe you get to talk to the Avengers," Ned mumbled, "like, _casually_ , like, you go and have dinner with them and stuff, and _Dr. Bruce Banner_ , I’m just – _wow_.”

 

“I know, right?” Peter snickered. “I don’t believe it half the – oh look, he’s accepted you, finally.”

 

“Of course he has, Ghost loves Sam.”

 

“What?”

 

“Sam? Samwell Tarly? Sam the Slayer?”

 

“Why do you get to be Sam?!”

 

“Because he’s the brainy friend and if you’re Jon Snow –”

 

“Whoa. I’m Jon Snow? Now that’s flattering.”

 

Ned rolled his eyes. “I’m just stating the obvious. Look – superpowers, adopting an albino and naming him Ghost, and you’ve got a Stark as your mentor, get it? Tony S –”

 

“Yeah, _got_ it.”

 

Peter scratched the kitten’s chin as he thought about it.

 

“Wow. I never realized… We’re Jon and Sam!”

 

"Brothers of the Night's Watch!" Ned grinned.

 

 

*

 

 

Thing is, while they would never dream of using their newly accepted nicknames where someone else could hear them – MJ would never let them get over the embarrassment of that – they used it a lot on his solo missions. And it had the added advantage of no one overhearing their actual names.

 

But then after one particularly tricky flight manoeuvre in his quest to stop a mugging, which he was sure would get him grounded by Aunt May if she ever found out, Ned, who was at school communicating with his laptop which he’d managed to connect to Peter’s suit, whooped as he tracked Peter's movements.

 

"Way to go Snow! That White Walker’s not going to be even thinking about breaking the law again any time soon.” And then he turned and saw Happy standing behind them, looking, in Ned’s words, _supremely unimpressed_.

 

And if Happy knew, Mr. Stark knew, and as he braced himself for the embarrassment outside the lab doors, he saw _Dr. Banner_ was present too – and, _crap_ , could the earth swallow him right about now? 

 

They were already deep in discussion when he entered, and Dr. Banner said, tilting his head towards Peter, “He’s got a point, you know."

 

Peter looked on cluelessly as Tony frowned.

 

“Fine, so what does that make us? I could be Tyr –”

 

“Tony, you’re clearly Ned Stark, you collect strays like Phil collects Captain America cards -"

 

“One, I don’t _collect_ _strays,_ " said Tony, as Bruce, Peter, and Ghost looked on, “and two, if the kid’s Jon, I’m –”

 

“Okay, hang on," Peter interrupted, "there’s no _if_  here –”

 

“Yes there is, even _Jon Snow_ has better self-preservation instincts than you do, and he got himself _stabbed_ ,  so that’s saying some–”

 

“Oh yeah, I forgot he died and then came back too, just like I di –”

 

He stopped when he saw Dr. Banner, eyes wide, gesturing at him to cut it out, and he realized Tony was looking at him as if he'd just announced that he was a member of the Flat Earth Society.

 

“Too soon, kid,” Tony muttered. "Too. Soon."

**Author's Note:**

> Right, so Peter is Jon and no one can convince me otherwise. Also, I feel Tony and Jaime have a LOTTTT in common (including being misunderstood in-universe and in real life lol :( ) but for the purposes of this story, I needed him to be Ned, so... (Although if you think about it a Jaime-Jon team up would be AMAZING.)
> 
> I also realized while writing this that Dr. Strange is Bran, I mean, look at it, both go through an accident which makes them stop doing something they love/are good at, and then Magic - also time stone thingy. (That could be another fic, come to think of it...)
> 
>  
> 
> ALSOOOO, you KNOW Peter is the type who'll make jokes and memes about his death YOU KNOW IT. Tony and the others don't appreciate it. At all.


End file.
